Sunday, November 25, 2007

When the Tsunami devastated Southeast Asia and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, the first cry that went out was, “Why was there no warning?” Now, we are faced with an environmental tsunami but the difference is we have a warning. According to the U.N. panel of scientists as reported by AP writer Arthur Max on November 17th, global warming is “unequivocal.” U.N. Secretary General Ban said, “The world’s scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice.”

What are the unequivocal changes that will occur regardless of actions? Here is the short list: A sea rise of 4-6 feet; water shortages for 75-250 million Africans; coastal and river flooding for major Asian cities; heat waves and water competition in North America; and the extinction of up to 70% of all plant and animal species. We are not looking at a distant time frame, many changes are expected by 2020 and that assumes no more unknown environmental factors emerge. We all know predictions as recently as a year ago had to be modified as the environment decided to react on its time plan, and not ours. Everything is happening faster than expected. Secretary Ban said, “Only urgent, global action will do.”

The IPCC has been bold in its warnings and leaves little room for doubt that we are in for some “interesting times.” Keeping in mind that almost nothing has been done by the largest nations to even address the issue, only the foolish would expect that the calamities would not be worse than predicted. When new diseases are added to the picture, aggravated by rising temperatures, water shortages and overcrowding, the scenarios take a turn for the worse.

Obviously, two things must happen; governments must act and, people must heed the warnings. Governments are not acting so that leaves the rest up to us. We have received an early warning, and like the tsunami, if we do not heed that warning, there is no one to blame but ourselves if lives are lost. There is no question that rather than flocking to coastal cities, people need to start thinking about relocating inland. This will reduce exposure to disease and the loss of life and property due to flooding. Just look at Bangladesh, is this the kind of life you want to live? Move to the country and start growing your own food. All one has to do is read my book called, RAPING LOUISIANA: A DIARY OF DECEIT and see how FEMA and governments are not only incapable of evacuating populations, they have no clue how to deal with the aftermath of situations like Hurricane Katrina.

People must begin to leave flood plain areas and areas prone to drought-it will only get worse. Pressure will increase on rural areas and these areas must start thinking now how they will accommodate an influx of population. Precious farms cannot be lost so some real planning is in order. Life as we know is changing and people have a choice, live or die. If you wait until governments order evacuations, it will be way too late.

The consuming public must begin to demand that new and sustainable sources of energy be released at reasonable prices. Reliance on oil serves no one but the oil companies. Current prices of oil is just another wake-up call that all need to heed. Your next vehicle purchase must be a hybrid at a minimum. The fuel will not be there or at least not at an affordable cost. The technology is out there for non-polluting vehicles and the consumer must demand that this technology be made available. All new construction that has even a hint of public financing must demand that alternative energy be incorporated into the design. The public must also demand, for the sake of our children, that rules be passed to reduce the billions of tons of pollutants added to the environment each year. No, is not an option.

Great care must also be spent in preserving our bio diversity. People just do not realize that the numbers being discussed in terms of extinctions will result in ecological collapse. It is not just about saving the polar bear or some exotic species, if the ecological systems collapse, our systems will collapse with them. We are all interconnected and most of the relationships are not even understood. But one thing is certain, lose the number of species discussed by the IPCC and life as we know will be altered forever.

The list of actions could go on but I think you get the point. We have been warned. Change will happen. We can make them changes for the better by altering the way we live and the way we do business. The alternative is to continue to be led like lambs to the slaughter down the road of environmental collapse. This is not science fiction, this is science fact. I can only hope that the “one voice” does not fall on deaf ears!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

I do not pretend to be a scientist but I am conversant with many of its principles. The purpose of this article is to contrast some of the basic laws in physics with that of the Law of Attraction and to at least to generally illustrate that the two fields of study are not contradictory. In fact, in a Universe that is founded on energy, the laws of energy and spiritual laws that manipulate energy must be linked. Law of Attraction deals with the manipulation of energy to create reality. It therefore must be compatible with the principles of physics, to the degree that science understands the ever-changing knowledge we possess of those principles.Opposites attract. This law actually confirms the basic principles of the Law of Attraction. Negative energy, in spiritual terms, is merely the absence of a positive charge; it is a place for the positive to flow into. Think of the negative charge as a need or a want. You look at your life and say “I have a need for more prosperity.” This is the negative charge. In response, the positive energy of abundance and prosperity abhors a vacuum and rushes in to fill the void. Opposites attract and the Law of Attraction works. But science says that like repels like. In a way that is true with respect to magnetic polarity but only to point. There is a force in the Universe called gravity. In this instance, matter attracts matter. It is not opposite matter that attracts but rather all matter seeks to attract other matter. If not, there would be no stars, no planets and no manifest Universe. Like does repel like if the space is full. Fill a cup with water and then try to poor more in. It does not happen. Fill a hay barn with hay and try to throw more bales of hay in. It does not happen. Like only repels like if there is no need for more of the same thing. In the Law of Attraction, love attracts love, thoughts of prosperity attract more prosperity, and thoughts of health attract health. It is hard to say if there is ever enough love so the cup never gets full. If you lack prosperity and focus on that lack, you will not attract prosperity. All that you are really doing is making the cup, the hole, and the lack bigger. Like attracts like so thoughts of lack, attracts more like. However, when your focus changes to abundance, now opposites attract and the positive energy of abundance rushes in as positive energy to fill the hole you once created. So, you can either keep thinking negative thoughts and make the hole larger and attract a bigger hole, or use the laws of physics to your advantage and fill the hole with positive energy. Either way, the Law of Attraction does not violate the laws of physics; on the contrary, they help to prove those laws.If like did not attract like there would be no such things as atoms since their nuclei are composed of, among other things, positively charged protons. The protons should have repelled each other, according to critics of the Law of Attraction. If you look at nature you find salt deposits, iron deposits, copper deposits, etc. It is clear that these elements and their atoms were attracted to each. Otherwise, all of the atoms of these elements would just be widely scattered throughout the Universe.We know like ideas attract. If this was not true, there would be no such thing as groups such as political parties, social and charitable groups, or even societies. The world of people would simply be chaotic with each person out for their own survival. By the same token, opposite sexes attract but it is still among like species so they are not really opposite as much as they are two forces that seek to join for a common purpose. They are two sides of the same coin.“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This means that for every positive thought, there is an equal opposite and negative thought. At first glance, this does not sound very good since it implies that the stronger your positive ideas, the stronger the negative idea. In order to have a manifest Universe this law must exist. If there were no down to accompany up, there would be no dimension. However, with thought we are in the realm of potential. You cannot create a positive thought without a corresponding negative thought. This does not, however, mean that the negative thought must manifest. By continuing to focus on manifesting the positive and ignoring the existence of the negative, the negative remains only in potential and not manifest. If your thought began to focus on the negative, then the potential negative would be brought into manifestation. The key is intention and focus and to make the positive actual and to keep the negative, potential.“Bodies at rest tend to stay at rest and bodies in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by a net force.” We all know what it means to be in a rut. Whether it is spirituality, politics or economics it is easy to be complacent and to stagnate. This basic Newtonian law applies to the realm of spirituality. As long as things are going “okay” we tend to just trudge along in a comfort zone. Feeling that we have a slight spiritual edge over others, we settle for being, as Pink Floyd once said, “Comfortably numb.” It is not until something happens, a net force, hits our life that we see that stagnation leads nowhere. From personal disaster to things like job loss, divorce, epiphanies and even comments made by others, a force is required to move our life back into action and the road to higher evolution. Conversely, we have all heard the phrase, “being on a roll.” When we are on the spiritual fast track almost no net force can derail our progress. We are in motion and will continue to be so as long as we stay focused and do not allow appearances or negative thoughts derail our progress.F-ma. Perhaps it is a stretch to use this law in talking about the Law of Attraction but, at least metaphorically, it works. This law states that Force = mass x acceleration. Can you measure the “force” of a thought? I believe that one day we will but for now, I believe the law still offers an important spiritual lesson. I write the formula this way: the Force of a thought equals the importance of the thought (mass) times the urgency (acceleration) with which we desire to manifest that thought. This is why passing thoughts, ones that lack any real importance and urgency, have little force and often dissipate. Conversely, a thought that holds your attention and which is filled with emotion and desire (mass) and which needs to be dealt with relatively soon (acceleration), has a lot of force and is likely to manifest quickly. Keep in mind that this works for both positive and negative thoughts.Do other permeations of this formula work? Thoughts with a lot of force that “weigh heavy” on the mind tend to manifest quickly. F/m=a. If the thought is powerful but is of little concern to you (less mass), the manifestation is slow (a). Does F/a=m work? Thoughts that have little sense of urgency (a) do yield a low thought force and one with little mass or of little concern. These thoughts will have only a minor impact on your life. Again, while you cannot put actual numbers into the formula, the concept for the Law of Attraction do seem to work. Since form follows thought, those with a lot of thought create a clearer manifestation than those with less thought. While actual times cannot be used, notions of ‘soon,’ ‘later,’ and not at all come to mind. While mass in grams or pounds cannot be used, terms such as ‘heavy,’ ‘important’ or even critical come into play when thinking of mass of a thought.There are other laws in science that support spiritual ideas and the energy they manipulate. If “resistance” is provided to a current, things heat up. If resistance is faced by an idea, things can certainly heat up. Heat a volume of air and it expands. Heat up an idea with desire and emotion, and it expands. There are many analogies and the details can be left to those more scientifically inclined.The bottom line here is that the Law of Attraction is not in the least bit contradictory to the laws in physics. When looked at in terms of practical application or spiritual application, it can be seen that these laws are even interchangeable. At a minimum, there is no conflict. The day may well come in the areas of quantum physics when many of these things can be measured and quantified or seen in a complimentary manner. Since matter is energy and thoughts are energy, it is logical and rational to see that the basic laws or principles would have to apply to both the physical and spiritual realms of existence. Ancient mystics knew of the principles of energy and thought and advances in quantum physics are bringing these ideas, one thought to be diametrically opposed, into congruence and unifying theory of existence.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

The recent surge in oil prices is the epitome in white collar crime. One cannot help but wonder how long people and politicians will sit idly by while oil corporations steal from the poor to fatten their overflowing wallets. On Friday oil hit $95.93, down slightly from Wednesdays high of $98.62 a barrel. Just out of shear delight my guess is that forces are at work to reach the $100/barrel mark, just to say that it did.

The rationale for such high prices has become an annual refrain. One reason is the drop in U.S energy reserves. How do people become billionaires by not having enough reserves for the winter? This excuse is heard every year. Do oil companies not have calendars? Why should reserves be low going into heating and holiday travel season? That would be like stores letting their stocks of goods dwindle before the holiday shopping season. Does that make any sense? Is it a secret that people use oil to heat their homes?

Another excuse is the proverbial storm. Okay, a North Sea storm closed some Norwegian platforms. Doesn’t this happen at the beginning of every winter? Of course there are storms. In hurricane season there are, let me guess, hurricanes? We all know this and so do the oil companies. Don’t they plan for this?

These are my favorites: there might be a revolution somewhere so prices go up. There may be a storm somewhere, so prices go up. A prince in Saudi Arabia sneezed, prices go up! This is all ridiculous. There is no question in my mind that oil prices will have to rise. This will probably be the major stimulus to forcing people into using alternative energy, most of which products are owned by oil companies anyway. Oil will not last forever.

The Washington reported that consumers are paying $4-5 billion more per DAY for oil than they did just 5 years ago. This adds some $2 trillion to the oil companies bank accounts. How much more do oil companies want? When oil hits these kinds of levels it affects every aspect of the economy. The list of petrol based products is astounding. As consumer dollars are increasingly spent on energy, little is left for other products. My guess is that this year’s holiday retail sales will be abysmal. Who will lose? The outlook is not good for small businesses who cannot offer deep consumer discounts. So the winners will be Wal-Mart and other super retail chains. Can we see the trend here? Small will not only “not” be beautiful, small will not exist!

So where does this leave us? Up the creek, I would say. Oil companies and speculators are going to destroy small businesses and drive the consumer into the ground while they fill their bank accounts. Where are our political leaders? Why are they not forcing change? Why are they letting oil companies commit the crime of the century? The middle and lower classes in America are bleeding to death and they do nothing. Have they given us an alternative? No! Are their heads in the sand? Yup! Elections are coming and he/she who is willing to take the oil companies on will get my vote!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

“The Lost Book of Nostradamus” was recently aired on the History Channel. They got it all wrong! While sensationalism sells and controversy attracts listeners, the History Channel should have done more to balance the commentary on this newly discovered manuscript. While their was a hint of mystical inference in some of the commentary, most so called ‘experts’ greatly missed the mark in the interpretation of the text and images in The Prophecies by this well known seer.

In a multi-part series of articles it is my intent to show that the current popular interpretations of the symbols presented in the “Lost Book” are sadly lacking in efficacy. In doing so, the current buzz around this book will have done Nostradamus and humanity a great disservice. It is important to keep in mind that current interpretations are geared to a comparison of the text to Christian ideology, mytghs and scriptures. By spending most of the analysis comparing Nostradamus, prophecies to the Bible in general, and revelations in particular, the effort becomes self-serving and self-fulfilling.

Nostradamus was a mystic with ties to several secret societies, most notably, the Rose Cross. In this context, new levels of observation come to light when viewing the images contained in the text. As a matter of fact, if one examines The Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucian’s, it will be clear that there is more than meets the eye with respect to the intent and meaning of the Nostradamus prophecies. Further, while the commentators on the show made mention of tarot symbols, it is clear that their understanding is not at the esoteric levels. In my co-authored novel, “Waking God,” the concept of a Tarot Code was introduced. The book is a mystical treatise in the guise of a spiritual thriller and states that the tarot has hits roots in imagery that preceded the Assyrian Empire and has been carried forth into the modern era. These symbols provide a pictorial history of human evolution as well as clues, or prophecies regarding our future. These symbols are found in almost every civilization and yet are understood by only a few.

Contrary to information and suppositions made in the History Channel’s broadcast, the symbols of Nostradamus transcend those images often touted by biblical scholars as messages of doom and world’s end. Perhaps the only real accurate statement on the show that was symbol related is that the prophecies give clues as to the Apocalypse. But even here, it is important to remember that the term ‘apocalypse’ does not mean the end of the world. The word means ‘revelation, to uncover, knowledge revealed’ and not Armageddon or the destruction of the physical world. The term apocalypse has been hijacked by religious dogma to frighten unsuspecting followers into believing that all prophecies that deal with the word apocalypse support their notion that one day, deity will destroy its creation and only the faithful will survive. The apocalypse of Nostradamus deals with the ‘end of lies, not the end of times.’

While more details will be presented in subsequent articles, it should be understood that the true and inner meaning behind the words of Nostradamus concerns humanity’s spiritual awakening. The prophecies are a light post aimed at leading humanity into a new era of spirituality that is devoid of dogma and founded upon the notion of personal spiritual enlightenment. The same can be said for the much misunderstood Book of Revelations. The accuracy of his predictions serves to underscore the fact that he knew the benchmarks that would be achieved as humanity travels on its path of evolution. He was showing people that tough choices must be made if we, in fact, ever hope to prevent our own self-destruction. He was alerting humanity to the ideas that our choices are leading to such things as environmental, social and political collapse if we do not change our way of thinking. His warnings were meant to divert us from catastrophe rather than suggesting that such catastrophe is inevitable. The goal a person telling you not to go down a certain road because the bridge has collapsed is not to foretell of your death; it is meant to prevent your death.

In future articles I will show that the serpents and dragons in the images of Nostradamus are representative of evil or the devil. The female images are not about women trying to become Pope. The Tower of destruction is not about the end of the world. The images of apparent clashes between Muslims and Christians do not predict inevitable religious wars. The symbols of Nostradamus and the Tarot are not about an anti-Christ. Throughout religious history biblical texts, taken out of context, have been used to justify all manner of crime and injustice. The prophecies of Nostradamus are another voice crying out in the wilderness of human history urging us to change our ways and enter a period of great enlightenment. It is incumbent upon modern interpreters of these messages not to fall into the age old religious trap and of using these words of wisdom to frighten humanity into a set of self-fulfilling prophecies.

About Me

I am a multi-published author, holistic life coach and nationally syndicated writer. I have expertise in the areas of self-growth and transformation, the esoteric, life coaching, religion and "all things that matter."